Vylon
"Vylon" (ヴァイロン Vairon) is an archetype that debuted in Duel Terminal - Vylon Descends!! and focuses around the use of Equip Cards. Design Appearance The monsters appear as angelic, vaguely humanoid machines, have LIGHT as their Attribute, and have either Fairy, Machine, or (in one case) Thunder as their Type. Their team symbol is a golden-orange orb, often with gold metal trim. Etymology The names of various cards from the archetype are based on mathematical concepts and constants. This may or may not be a reference to a famous church official who once told a mathematician that "there are angels in your angles." The Tuner monsters of this group are shaped and named after three-dimensional geometric figures ("Prism", "Cube", "Sphere", "Tetrahedron", "Stella Octangula"), and the Union Monsters are based on four-dimensional figures ("Tesseract", "Pentachloro pentachoron"). The five Vylon Synchro Monsters are each named after the phonetic pronunciation of a Greek letter. Some have bodies resembling their letter ("Vylon Epsilon", "Vylon Sigma", "Vylon Omega"), while others have something on their bodies that resembles it ("Vylon Alpha", "Vylon Delta"), and they all have Roman Numerals corresponding to their order in the Greek Alphabet written vertically on their chests. The Xyz Monster of this group, "Vylon Disigma", is named after an archaic Greek letter. Story In the story of the Duel Terminals, the Vylon are holy machine weapons created by the Constellar in The Ancient Era to oversee the seal they had placed upon the Steelswarm, and were designed to be impervious to the corruption of the Lswarm. As ages passed and the Constellar returned to the stars, the Vylon merely observed the confrontations that took place on the Surface World below. Even through the wars against the Worms and the Fableds and the resulting devastation caused by the Ice Barrier Dragons, they stayed silent. Within the second generation of the Duel Terminals, the Vylon choose to appear during a conflict that breaks out between the Laval and Gem-Knight tribes, descending from the heavens amidst the fighting and forcing a temporary ceasefire between the warring clans. "Gishki Noellia", a former member of the Ice Barrier possessed by the madness of the Lswarm, revives the Steelswarm by launching an assault on the Gusto tribe in their homeland of the Mist Valley Marshlands, trying to gain control of a certain shrine. Feeding off the chaos of the fighting, the Steelswarm break free of their containment and ravage the Surface World, seeking revenge on those that had sealed them away long ago. The Vylon relay this turn of events to the Constellar before turning their attention to the battles ahead. The fated collision, that which they had been created for so long ago, awaited them. To combat this powerful threat and common enemy, the four tribes of Gem-Knight, Laval, Gusto and Gishki create an alliance under the umbrella of the Vylon forces. In their time of need, the Vylon send each of the tribes new power via "Vylon Element". * "Vylon Sphere" + "Reeze, Whirlwind of Gusto" = "Daigusto Sphreez" * "Vylon Tetra" + "Gishki Noellia" = "Evigishki Tetrogre" * "Vylon Stella" + "Laval Cannon" = "Laval Stennon" * "Vylon Prism" + "Gem-Knight Crystal" = "Gem-Knight Prismaura" War rages against the onslaught of the Steelswarm and many are lost, including "Vylon Alpha". The final battle reaches its appex when "Steelswarm Hercules" rises to end it himself. Suddenly "Vylon Omega" arrives from the Vylon Element gateway to turn the tides! Omega descends upon the field of battle to cast judgment, vaporizing all the lesser Steelswarm that draw near. The war is decided when the two leaders clash, and in the end both lie defeated. Peace after their victory doesn't last as the other tribes soon return to fighting over their petty conflicts. The Vylon cannot understand such disunion, and the defeat of the Steelswarm is shown to have had an effect on them: during the final battle, when "Vylon Tetra" was used in a ritual by Noellia to merge into Tetrogre, the evil of the Lswarm possessing Noellia touched the hive-mind of the Vylon. The resulting madness quickly spread through the Vylon ranks, warping them in a way that the Lswarm never could physically. The Vylon resolve to exterminate the other tribes to end their on-going feuds for good and create the perfect utopia. "Vylon Stigma", "Vylon Tesseract" and "Vylon Pentachloro" join to create the seeker of absolute unity, "Vylon Disigma". The four tribes are forced to unite once again, sharing their powers to combat this friend-turned-foe. Disigma absorbs members of the other tribes, gaining the power to defeat each one in turn and heavily damaging them. Disigma decides the fate of "Evigishki Merrowgeist", "Evigishki Gustkraken", "Lavalval Ignis", "Lavalval Dragun", "Daigusto Phoenix", and "Daigusto Falcos" in his rampage (minus "Kamui, Hope of Gusto", who Falcos aided in escaping). Only "Gem-Knight Pearl", created from the strength of the Gem-Knights and the Gishki, proves immune to Disigma's absorption ability and has the power to end the twisted angel. With the Vylon crushed, yet another threat is overcome. The true enemy is only just stirring, however, and now the Vylon are not there to oppose it... Playing Style All Vylon Equip Spell Cards can only be equipped to a Vylon Monster and have a secondary effect that allows the player to search for another Vylon Spell Card when they are sent from the field to the graveyard while face up. This is perhaps their greatest asset, as it allows Vylon decks to keep their card advantage from their Spells as long as there are other Vylon Spells in the deck. In Duel Terminal - Judgment of Omega!!, four Vylon Tuner monsters (levels 1 through 4) were introduced that have the ability to be Treated as Equip Cards when sent from the Monster Card Zone to the Graveyard (even when used for a Synchro Summon) at the cost of 500 Life Points, each providing different effects when they are equipped. In Duel Terminal - Xyz Startup!!, the Vylons obtained two Union Monsters that can be equipped to another Vylon to grant effects when the equipped monster destroys another monster in battle, as well as one of the first Duel Terminal-exclusive Xyz Monsters, "Vylon Disigma". The Vylon strategy revolves around the use of Equip Cards, their effects often only working when they have at least one equipped. Their Equip Spell Cards can search out other Vylon Spells from the deck when they are sent to the Graveyard from the field, and most of their Tuner and Union monsters (except "Vylon Cube") can become Equip Cards. Their Equip Spells activate even when the monsters they are equipped to are destroyed or used as Synchro Material, letting their users gather the right tools for the situation at hand at any time, though they should always be aware of the number of Spell and Trap Card Zones they have left to work with. One should try to keep at least 1 Spell or Trap Card Zone open so that they can respond should the duel's situation suddenly change. Vylon Sigma OTK focuses on Synchro Summoning "Vylon Sigma", then maxing out its ATK with multiple "Mage Power" and attacking twice with "Twin Swords of Flashing Light - Tryce" for massive battle damage as soon as possible. * This can be started by Special Summoning "Photon Thrasher" and then Normal Summoning "Vylon Cube" to prepare for summoning the Level 7 Sigma. ** Alternatively "Trident Warrior" can also be used, but it is more vulnerable to effect negation, and Thrasher outclasses it in terms of ATK. * "Vylon Cube" is always the Tuner Monster of choice for this build, since it can search out "Mage Power" or any other Equip Spell needed when used as a Synchro Material for a LIGHT Monster. ** "Vylon Stella" and "Morphtronic Scopen" are also options, though they don't provide the same advantage as Cube. * With "Twin Swords of Flashing Light - Tryce", "Mage Power", and "Vylon Material" for power, "Vylon Filament" and "Vylon Segment" for protection, and "Vylon Component" for piercing, this combo can be lethal and consistent. ** "Honest" can also power up Sigma if needed. Vylon Epsilon Control focuses on Synchro Summoning "Vylon Epsilon" quickly and equipping it with "Vylon Segment" to make it and Segment untargetable by most cards, then using Epsilon's destruction effect and high ATK to control the field and attack until game. * Epsilon can be Synchro Summoned by combining either "Photon Thrasher" or "Summoner Monk" with "Vylon Prism", or via "Cyber Dragon", "Solar Wind Jammer" or "Ghost Ship" together with "Vylon Cube". ** This build can also readily summon "Vylon Alpha" by tuning the Level 5 monsters mentioned above with "Vylon Prism", or "Vylon Sigma" by tuning "Photon Thrasher" with "Vylon Cube". "Vylon Disigma" can also be made with a "Photon Thrasher" and "Summoner Monk" combo. You can also summon Epsilon by special summoning " Cyber Dragon" and then normal summoning "Trident Warrior" to special summon Cube and synchro for Epsilon. Now you have "Trident Warrior" with high enough attack to get rid of your oppononts possible face-down monster and have epsilon deal a massive blow, or two blows if you have "Twin Swords of Flashing Light - Tryce" and another equip spell. * This variant compliments the others as a backup plan, as this version is the most consistent. Vylon Element Swarming focuses on utilizing "Vylon Element" to swarm the field with Vylon Tuners (which can only be used for the Synchro Summon of Vylon Synchro Monsters). "Rod of Silence - Kay'est" can quickly destroy Vylon Equip Cards to activate Element's effect. Since the Equip Spells replace themselves with other Vylon Spells (including Element), this can be done over and over in a loop to summon as many Vylon Tuners to the field as there are Vylon Equip Spells in the deck. This variant is capable of Synchro Summoning the mighty "Vylon Omega", as well as a field's worth of Rank 3 or 4 Xyz Monsters (depending on the Tuners available in the deck). * To summon Omega, it's best to first Synchro Summon either "Vylon Sigma" or "Vylon Delta" with "Vylon Cube" to get "Rod of Silence - Kay'est". Both Sigma and Delta can use their effects to search for the remaining pieces of the loop if needed. Sigma can gain an Equip Spell if it can survive one battle (or cause a replay via Element), making Omega possible in a single turn. Alternatively, Delta backed by "Vylon Segment" or Kay'est is a very solid defensive option that should enable the loop on the following turn without the risk of battle. With Element, Kay'est and one Vylon Equip at the ready, the Element loop can fetch "Vylon Sphere" and "Vylon Tetra" to gather the ten stars needed for Omega. "Vylon Tetra" will protect Omega from destruction once and activate Element's effect again when it does, while "Vylon Sphere" can be traded for one of the Vylon Equip Spells the loop sent to the Graveyard and expand Omega's powers. Omega's own effect to equip itself with a Vylon from the Graveyard can reuse these two until it is nearly invulnerable. ** Alternatively, one of the Level 4 non-Tuner Vylons can be combined with two Cubes (or one Tetra and one Prism) to create Omega. Epsilon can also refit into Omega with the help of two Spheres. * While only Vylon monsters can be Synchro Summoned using the Tuners from the Element loop, those monsters can still be used towards any Xyz Summons. Extra "Vylon Cube" or "Vylon Prism" remaining in the deck can be summoned and overlayed to create powerful allies for Omega; "Number 20: Giga-Brilliant", "Wind-Up Zenmaines", "Number 39: Utopia", "Starliege Paladynamo", "Constellar Omega", and "Number 16: Shock Master" are excellent choices to consider. One can even forgo Omega entirely in favor of swarming Tuners and Xyz monsters. ** Even Rank 1 and 2 Xyz Monsters can be made with the help of multiple Sphere and Tetra, though with limted Extra Deck space and the general superiority of the Level 3 and 4 Tuners and Rank 3 and 4 Xyz, they should probably only be used towards the creation of Omega. ** The infamous "Omega's Shocking Decree!!!" lockdown prevents your opponent from activating any Spells, Traps, or Monster effects. To create, use the Element loop to summon three "Vylon Prism" from the deck (before creating Omega) and form Shock Master. Once Omega has been summoned and equipped with its Spells, Shock Master can use its effect to prevent the activation of Spells. Backed by Decree to negate Traps and Omega's effect to negate monsters, the opponent should be left with few to no options. Weaknesses Due to their emphasis on Equip Spell Cards, most Vylon decks are forced to run a low Trap Card count to stay consistent. This makes it hard to respond to the opponent's cards, requiring the use of "Vylon Segment" or "Vylon Filament" and high ATK monsters to keep the opponent's plays at bay. Since Vylons don't have much power to Special Summon themselves, cards that can negate summons like "Solemn Warning" are easy answers to the Vylon Synchro Monsters, and cards like "Macro Cosmos" which Banish your cards will prevent the Equip Spells and Tuners from activating their effects in the Graveyard. "Rivalry of Warlords" can be effective against the Vylon since the archetype is made up of three different Monster Types even without counting other monsters common to the deck. "Royal Decree" is an excellent choice for disabling your opponent's Trap Cards while not affecting you at all, since this deck hardly utilizes any Traps. "Naturia Beast", "Legendary Six Samurai - Shi En" or any Spell Negation can be problematic against Vylons due to their dependence on Spell Cards. In such a situation, rely on the power of Monster Cards like "Cyber Dragon", "Photon Thrasher" or "Summoner Monk" and the ability of the Vylon Tuners to become Equip cards from the Graveyard to overwhelm the opponent until you can use Spells again. However, "Dark Highlander" is the perfect mis-match against "Vylon"s due to most of said archetype's Decks revolving around Synchro Summoning and Equip Spell Cards. "Forbidden Lance" can be very dangerous to Vylon monsters (especially "Vylon Sigma") due to it making all cards equipped to one monster lose their effects upon that monster, in addition to reducing their ATK. "Enemy Controller" can switch the Vylons into their (usually) more vulnerable Defense Position, where boosts to ATK won't help them, or could even steal your monster away for the turn if your opponent has a Tribute for it. "Book of Moon" can be perhaps even more devastating since it combines the strengths of both of these other cards, though thankfully it is currently Limited in the Advanced Format. "Vylon Segment" can't stop any of these cards, and "Vylon Filament" will only help if the opponent is careless enough to wait until your attack to try to use these cards. Element Swarming builds can utilize "Rod of Silence - Kay'est" to protect their monster against those Spells, though this prevents their own equips from helping them. As with all LIGHT-Attribute archetypes, the Ally of Justice and Koa'ki Meiru archetypes and "Light-Imprisoning Mirror", along with other anti-LIGHT support, can paralyze Vylons and their effects. Furthermore, odd Side Deck cards like "Eternal Rest", "Really Eternal Rest", "The Emperor's Holiday", "Disarmament", "Armored Glass", "Armor Break" and "Collected Power" can extinguish active Equip Spell Cards or even the Vylon monsters themselves. Rely on high ATK and Equip Cards when your monster effects are made useless, and don't commit too many monsters to the field, as while the Vylon equips are easily replaced, their monsters aren't. Sigma OTK users must always be prepared for backrow, since just one "Dimensional Prison" can dispatch Sigma easily. Moreover, if the OTK attempt fails once, it can be difficult to repeat since most of the Equip Spells needed for it would now be in the Graveyard. Use "Vylon Matter" or "Vylon Ohm" to help recover from such a situation. Epsilon Control defends against several targeting cards, but is still vulnerable to targeting Spells like "Book of Moon" and any cards that don't target like "Black Rose Dragon", "Dark Hole", "Heavy Storm" or "Mirror Force". "Dark Bribe" is a valid replacement for "Royal Decree" in this case. Element Swarm users rely on the lengthy Special Summon combo granted by "Vylon Element", which means cards like "Mystical Space Typhoon" can be dangerous obstacles since they can destroy "Vylon Element" and stop the chain of summons. Although "Vylon Omega" can seem virtually invincible thanks to its high-ATK and monster effect negation, it can still be made vulnerable if it loses its Equip Cards to something like "Heavy Storm". Try to have an answer for these threats or bait them out before you make any big plays. Trivia * All non-Synchro, Xyz and Tuner Vylons are Level 4 Monster Cards. * There are no "Vylon" Trap Cards. * All of the "Vylon" monsters have a similar armor style to the "Constellar" monsters. ** It is the only archetype in Hidden Arsenal 5: Steelswarm Invasion and Hidden Arsenal 6: Omega Xyz to not receive any Trap Card support. * "Steelswarm Roach" is a "Steelswarm Sentinel" that gained power from a corrupted Vylon fragment, as shown in "Advance Zone". * The Vylon monsters in Duel Terminal - Xyz Startup!! all lack the team symbol. * Vylons are the only Duel Terminal archetype that don't have a corrupted version of one of their monsters as an Evilswarm monster, aside from the Steelswarm from which the corruption originated. While they were amongst the first to be tainted by this epidemic, they could not be physically corrupted into an Evilswarm monster, thus why they were tasked with dealing with the Steelswarm in the first place. * This Archetype's Synchro Monsters (white card frames) are mainly white, while its Xyz Monster (black card frame) is mainly black. ** This seems symbolic of their moral alignment in the Duel Terminal story: while at first they are the world's saviors in the name of order, their need for order turns them against the other tribes after their battle with the Steelswarm. *The majority of the Vylon Synchro/Xyz Monsters are Fairy (except "Vylon Alpha"), while their Tuner monsters are Machine, except "Vylon Prism" (Thunder) and "Vylon Stella" (Fairy). *All Tuners, except "Vylon Stella", have ATK equal to their DEF like the original "Ancient Gears". Category:TCG and OCG archetypes